Rappin' In the Car

Well, here it is! A first video. :) Fabio turned on a funky station in the car and the kids really got into it! I love to hear Dominique's giggle, and then see her start head banging! hehehe

Yay! Pictures~!

Our Beautiful Little Princess
Dominique Joy


















Joshua and Dominique this morning in their "same and same" boots. ;) We took a walk to Walgreen's to develop our last roll of 35mm film and pick up a gallon of milk. I think I must be out of shape after the winter, because I felt kinda tired after our walk! Good thing spring is on its way and we will be able to get some more exercise....














Dominique and Joshua with cousins Cheyenne and Dillon. They love playing together SO much!














Joshua and Grandma Carol
While I was typing that, Dominique saw the picture and was trying to say "Grandma Carol"! Not very clearly, but some definite "G" and "C" sounds. :)
We were able to stop by Teibel's where Mom works the other night and that was fun! When Joshua was complimented on his Carhartt jacket, he was sure to announce that his mommy bought it for him at the "thrip shop"!!





This isn't really interesting subject matter, but we were just messing around with different camera modes and stuff and I thought this came out pretty good...









I am working on figuring out how to post a video so I can be cool too like my computer savvy friends Bipin and Michelle. :) hehe

We have been keeping busy as usual. Last week my mom and I and the kids took a little trip to visit my Grandma Nita. Her husband of four years has not been feeling well, so we wanted to see him and help Grandma with whatever we could. I don't think we were any help, but it was fun to visit. :)

Dominique is rather crabby today, so I think we might be in for some more teeth..... yay.

And I guess for now, that's all she wrote.

Good News.....

Well, after a long time of waiting, researching and frequently checking at many stores.... we purchased a digital camera tonight!!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited??? Now I will be able to post with ease pictures of all sorts, even if we are inside, or we are out and about!

We bought a Fujifilm FinePix Z1, which we have had our eyes on for quite some time and we got a really great deal on it! The price we paid for it was well worth the several months wait to get it.

Two of my favorite features of this model were:
1) 0.01 second shutter release time, meaning the pic gets taken immediately, instead of 5 seconds later when the kids look away and stop smiling.
2) reinforced glass screen and metal body = STRONG. With small children around, you never know what might happen, so I wanted something that would be durable.

Well, it's late and so tomorrow I will probably try to post some pics once the kids are awake and we figure out how to use the camera better. :)

Oh, wait. Fabio just took a picture of me. Maybe I'll try to post it, just for fun. :) Looks like he had it in black and white mode.

PRAY FOR OUR WARRIORS!

Because freedom doesn't come free.....




My brother Scott, the one who isn't a Marine, is an amazingly talented artist. As one means of supporting our Marine brother Aaron, he designed and made this awesome work of art, which he finally finished this week and mounted on the outside of his house. He cut all of these pieces out of wood for the guns, the plaque and the eagle, globe, anchor symbol of the Marines, painted it and weather-proofed it. Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure, and as a reminder to pray for my brother Aaron, who is being deployed to Iraq this summer, and the thousands of others who are sacrificing to protect and defend the freedom we enjoy in this country.

BECAUSE FREEDOM DOESN'T COME FREE.........
















Artwork by Scott M. Black





























Cpl A.P. Black

Playing with Cousins

Joshua & Dominique had such a nice time playing with their cousins last Friday, Dillon, Cheyenne and Gabriel..... and they all missed their cousins that are currently in Georgia. :( Joshua talks about them often and we are all looking forward to their return. If you read this, we miss y'all!!!

On an entirely different note, I have found that Aldi brand dishwasher detergent cleans better than any other brand I have tried. I knew you all wanted to know that. ;-)

Another discovery I have made is that I believe

I am actually more of a night person by nature. I have thought all of my life that I wasn't extremely a night or a morning person, but now I realize that I am naturally more of a night person, but I am a morning person by training, out of necessity, and also by preference. I love to stay up late and do stuff, especially once the kids are in bed when I can get things done with such ease... only trouble is I can't get outta bed w/ such ease in the mornin'! In hindsight, even when I was single and worked late, and therefore slept late, I felt yucky. So, the moral of this story is: believe the old addage: "Early to bed, early to rise makes a man (or woman) healthy, wealthy and wise!" (Well, I don't know about the wealthy part! :)

That's all for today, folks!

What a DELICIOUS Day!!!

Wow, it felt like spring today! It was amazingly invigorating! It was up to 70 and sunny. It was quite windy too, but I LOVE the wind as long as it isn't bitterly cold. We opened all the windows and let the house air out and it smells lovely and fresh in here now.

So, we "ate up" this delicious day, that is for sure! We took a walk in this lovely double jogging stroller and went to the park with the kids. They had a blast. I really wish the picture of them in the swing together was a video, because they were laughing hilariously and it was just too cute. I dont think they will fit in there together for much longer, as it is quite a squeeze already, but they just love it.


After naps, we went out to run some errands and get groceries. Once home, we washed the car, played in the water, cleaned out the garage and then I started cleaning out the flower beds. I had been needing to for a long time, but I was partly intimidated and partly lazy! The former pastor's wife was apparently quite the gardner, and I didn't want to mess anything up. All of the flower beds are well arranged with perrenials to bloom in spring, summer and autumn. I didn't know that until we moved in, so it was a beautiful surprise to watch each new thing come up and bloom!

Anyway, I dug in today and starting pulling out overgrowth of ground cover that had taken over part of the sidewalk, and was taking over the yard too! Once I got started I could hardly stop. It felt so good to get some dirt under my fingernails and it sure brought back memories of childhood days and working in the garden with Dad. I didn't have the proper tools, so I went to town with Joshua's toy hoe, and a drywall saw! I still have a lot to do, but I worked until it was too dark to see and it was simply invigorating!

The kids had a blast being outside most of the day. I think an added benefit will be a good

sound sleep tonight! By the time we went in the house, they were drenched from "helping" Daddy wash the car, so we put them right in the tub and scrubbed them down.

It was already nearly 7:00 and we still hadn't eaten, so I went into the kitchen to figure out something quick, when the doorbell rang. It was Daniel, one of the hispanic guys, bringing us still warm, freshly made tamales from his aunt!! Woo Hoo!

We must have worked up quite the appetites, because with a little help from Joshua and Dominqiue, we polished off a dozen in no time flat!

I hear that next week it is supposed to get cold again and snow, but for now I prefer to think spring is on the way, and look at these pictures to prove it!

Is Spring Coming?

Well, I am going to try to keep some pictures on here, even though the quality probably won't be the greatest for the time being....

It took TWELVE shots to actually get a good one of *both* of them looking nice at the same time!! It can get quite frustrating, and certainly does make me think a digital camera would be worth its weight in gold at such times!

I thought about posting all of the not so great ones, just for effect to see what goes into getting a decent shot, but nah.


Anyway, by the time I did get it, Daddy got home! This is always our favorite time of the day! The kids scream PAPA!!! and go running to the door as soon as they hear the knob. And so do I. ;)

Joshua was happy to have a little snow to play in this week, but I am ready to have spring here! At least my tulips are up to remind me that it really will happen! Getting anxious.

Well, I think the news in the last post will suffice for another while, so I'll keep this post brief. :)

What We've Been doing.....

I haven't been very "newsy" lately, so I thought I would post some family news, particularly for out of town family...

Our plans to go Wales to still stand. Woo Hoo! We got the go-ahead last week to purchase our tickets, since we found an amazing fare, so we plan to do that shortly. It is *very* exciting, and definitely a little scary! We would be leaving the middle-ish of September.

My big brother Aaron, the Marine, is in training in NC and will be deported to Iraq this summer. His wife and children are at her family's in GA, and all seem to be well. They will get to spend this coming weekend together and I'm sure they are all certainly looking foward to that! Keep them in your prayers, please.

The Hispanic ministry is "going". Sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always going....
For the past several weeks, I have been having Bible studies at my house in the morning for some ladies, and there have been two that have believed on Jesus for the first time, within the past month or so! All are new in the Lord, and it has been exciting to disciple them and watch them grow. Sometimes only one shows up, and sometimes it's more like six, but so far there has always been someone.
The guys still come around too. There are four that are the most "faithful" and they come at random times throughout the week, usually around dinner time. :-D We enjoying having them, and they are growing too.
Please pray for these people, and us, if the Lord brings them/us to mind.

Last week I also started participating in a Bible study at church by Beth Moore called "Believing God" and it has been *awesome*!! I highly recommend it for anyone looking to really dig into God's Word.

I am also reading through the Bible this year with the kids. It has been great! We usually try to read at meal times, and I stress to them that it is much more important to feed our spirits than our bodies. They actually really get excited about reading the Bible, even through some of the dry sections of Leviticus and Numbers! I was happily surprised, to tell you the truth! Last week we read a chapter in numbers that was listing all of the families of Israel, like "Gad, from the family of the Gadites" and Joshua thought it was just hilarious! Since then, he has been like "I'm Joshua, from the family of the Joshunites, and this is Dominique from the family of the Dominiquinites" etc, etc, with the names of everyone we know. It has become a little family joke. :)

The kids keep growing and keep us on our toes, as you can see from the post below! Other current mishaps include Joshua playing with the lock on the bathroom door and then closing the door (locking it closed). At least Dominique didnt get locked inside! Oh, and Dominique dropping toy coins into the toilet. Then this morning Dominique was right behind a door that Fabio opened (not knowing she was behind it) and she got her big toe under the door. It was red and swollen for a while, but looking much better already.

But other than all of those minor, um... accidents, the kids are doing great and learning and growing more every day. Joshua is reading better all the time, and Dominque is adding words to her vocabulary little by little. (Newest one is "plop":) Let me tell you, they teach us SO much! I am thankful for all we are learning from them, and from the Lord through them.

I will end with one more sweet moment from this morning. Out of the clear blue, Joshua put his hand on my tummy and prayed that God would put a baby in there! hmmmm..... :)

White As Snow

The other night when Fabio got home from work, we were talking in the kitchen, when suddenly the kids took off down the hall. I figured they were headed to the study to get some toys, but a few minutes later we hear them laughing hysterically! I told Fabio, "This can't be good news!" So I went looking for them, and found them in the hall bathroom. Apparently, Dominique had pulled the baby powder out of the cabinet and shook it... then Joshua jumped on the bandwagon and started DOUSING Dominique with powder!!! They both thought it was hilarious... Dominique looked like she was wearing a powdered wig, and the bathroom was like one big cloud of powder. I took a second to take it all in, trying to decide what to do, and stifling laughter at the same time. Finally I said in as serious a voice as I could manage, "Joshua, I'm going to take a few pictures, and then you're going to get a spanking." hehe.

These pictures don't *quite* capture it, because I didnt take them in the bathroom, and I had already wiped off her face, but you get the picture. :)

I had had that powder since Joshua was a baby, and pretty much never used it, so it was full. And now it is empty. So, Im sure we wont have this particular thing happen again. :-)~

Look What I Found!!

Here are some pictures I didnt know I had of Adeline and Dominique, which as you can tell by their size and apparrel are not recent! I think Addy was 5 months, and Dominique was 10 months. It is kind of fun to compare and see how much they have both grown (and their hair!)...

Our video camera has a digital camera feature, but it is not very good, so we hardly ever use it. Apparently I did this day, though! Digital cameras have sure come a long way in five years!

From the Archive...

Well, we are currently out of a camera, and probably will be for a while, so I pulled this picture out of the archive. :) It is Fabio and his little brother Fernando, and big sister Luciana looking over Fabio's shoulder. This was a life changing day for all of them. It was the day that they moved to Japan, in July of 1996. Fabio was so against the move, that he spent that day with friends instead of packing, and then threw some of his personal things into a suitcase an hour before leaving for the Sao Paulo Airport, where this picture was taken. He was 17 years old.
Anyway, it can make you think, ya know? To him at the time, moving to Japan was the worst possible thing that could happen to him! He had a life in Brazil, friends, a job, lots of fun. In Japan he had nothing, and couldn't even speak the language! The only thing that awaited him was 12 hour days of hard work in a dark factory. Not too exciting.
However, the Lord always has our best interest in mind! The Lord used the move to remove Fabio from the not-so-holy lifestyle he was leading in Brazil, and take him to Japan where he would eventually meet his Savior!! And as if that wasn't good enough, he also got a wife out of the Japan deal! :)
Anyway, just thinking tonight about how God is ALWAYS good, and *everything* he does is good, even if we don't always understand at the time.
PS... tech support please ~~ how come sometimes I can upload a pic that I scanned, and sometimes I cant??? <>

Building Blocks

Well, folks, it has happened. My little newborn baby girl has turned into a toddler. I am just realizing this now, because I think I have been in denial up until this point!

With my first, I was so anxious for him to do each new thing and reach each new stage... but this time around, I find I want my baby to stay a baby more than I did with Joshua. Not that I want Joshua to "hurry up and grow up", nor that I don't get excited with each new thing Dominique learns to do, but I think you get my feeling.


Anyway, Dominique is fifteen and a half months old now and is doing all sorts of things by herself. She feeds herself, goes down the slide by herself, colors pictures, plays with stickers, and is even learning to help me with household chores, like putting the clean silverware away, or putting the clothes in the dryer.

In these pictures, you can see that she has learned to build towers with megablocks as well. :)

She has been much later at learning to talk than what Joshua was, but that is okay with us, as he keeps our ears busy enough. :) But, her vocabulary is increasing, slowly but surely. She can say
mama, papa, baby, uh-oh, uh-uh (for no), and her new one is "hot". In addition, she does sign language for please, more, water, eat, mama, up, all done and poo-poo. Maybe others too, that I cant think of right now.

But speaking of doing sign language for poo-poo, she has been consistently telling me when she has business to take care of, with enough time for me to get her to the bathroom and do it there! I think she will be an easy one to graduate to potty trained status! yeah! If she has no diaper on, she usually tells me when she has to pee too. So, my plan is to wait until May or so when it is warmer, leave her bottom-less for a couple days and do full-time potty training then. Hopefully all goes according to the plan! :)

Just had to take a post to brag on my little one a little bit, mostly for the grandparent's benefit! Thanks for "bearing with me"!! :-)~

In Loving Memory

Pictured here are our dear friends Hideshi and Penny Nakanishi. We became friends while attending the same church in Moriyama, Shiga, Japan.

Hideshi was a very talented musician who used his giftings for the Lord, leading worship at Moriyama Church, as well as recording and performing several albums of Christian contemporary music that he composed. (If you click on the link, you can listen to some of his music.)
His wife, Penny , is from Australia and she and I became good friends. (The link tells is to an interview that tells a little more about how she ended up in Japan.)

I got a shocking email from Penny on December 28, 2005, that they had taken Hideshi to the doctor to have him checked out for a persistent cough that he had had a couple of months and wouldn't go away. After extensive testing, it was discovered that he had stomach cancer that had spread to his lungs. They let him go home with oxygen and anti-cancer medication, because his condition was too serious for him to undergo more aggressive chemo therapy.

We all prayed for him continually.

Last Wednesday, I received an email from Penny stating that his condition had deteriorated drastically and that he had been hospitalized. We continued to pray fervently.

Friday night, one more email came, this time stating that Hideshi had been received into the arms of his Savior on Saturday morning at 1:05am Japan time. He was 38 years old. Please pray for his young widow and his unsaved family members. It is a sad time, and yet we are comforted to know that Hideshi is rejoicing now in his eternal home.

"So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting?O Hades, where is your victory?”
The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:56-58

Rub-a-dub-dub-Two kids in the Tub!

For some reason, ever since she was about 5-6 months old, Dominique has loved to suck on the washcloth! I know, it is kinda gross....





Bath Buds Enjoying the Suds!


































Just after bath curls ~ I love it!

Dominique likes bath time more than any other time of the day, I think. :)





While in the pictures, they all look peachy keen, the truth of the matter is that we haven't had the greatest week... Tuesday afternoon Dominique woke up from her nap vomiting and continued to do so for about four hours straight! At least it was fairly short lived.
Then, Wednesday afternoon, Joshua woke up from his nap vomiting! It was the first time he had ever thrown up and he would just as soon missed out on that experience... He then had a fever all night and I was up with him many, many times. By morning, my stomach was churning, and sure enough.... WHAM! I got hit too! This bug had me out of commission from early morning yesterday until early this morning, so I am still kind of on the weak side today, but feeling better anyway. A million thanks to Ruth H. who came over yesterday and took care of the kids, me, the laundry, everything! She was awesome and I couldnt have survived without her! Then Fabio came home early and he was a trooper all the rest of the night, taking care of all of us and the house and all! Thanks, honey!

A Seed Planted

This is a picture of me and my previous neighbor, Sherry. She came to visit me a couple weeks ago and we had a great visit. I was *thrilled* to find out that she has become a Christian!!! Since I was a child when we were neighbors (I used to be her babysitter!), I never knew a lot of things about her life, so she told me her whole testimony and God has done great things in her. It was really encouraging to hear about.
One part of her testimony was about "an 11 year old little neighbor girl" who showed up at her door step one day with a King James Bible, gave it to her and told her to start reading in the book of John! (It was me.) Now, I must truthfully say that I have absolutely no recollection of having done this, but she said that I wrote in the front cover of the Bible a little message to her, so it must have been me...
Anyway, this was really encouraging lesson to me. Almost every day, every where we go, with everyone we see, we plant seeds. Our words are seeds. Are they good ones or bad? Are they more likely to attract people to Jesus, or repel them from Him?
Keep planting the good seed of the Word of God everywhere you go! You never know what fruit it may bear, even ten or twenty years down the road! I feel very privileged to have gotten to know about this particular "fruit", but much we may never see. Still, keep planting in faith! His Word will not return void, but will accomplish the work which it was set out to do.

Some Extended Family News

These pictures are a little better, I think, than the last ones I posted, because you can see each family all together, and all the grandkids together as well.
These pictures were taken at our last family gathering for a while, because Aaron and family left the next morning: Aaron to NC for further Marine training, and Suzy and the kids to her family's in GA. So we ate together, sang some worship songs, and prayed them off. This was all one week ago.
First Picture: My oldest brother, Scott, Amanda, Dillon, Cheyenne, Gabriel



















My second brother, Aaron, Suzy, Jessica, AJ, Colton, Levi















The Black Siblings in birth order and height order, with Mom
















All nine grandkids: Jessica, Gabriel, Colton, Joshua, Levi, Cheyenne, Dillon, AJ, Dominique

Joshua is improving in his photo taking expertise! He took this picture of Dominique and I (when Dominique's nose was still scuffed up ~ it's not a new owie.)












This is another birthday picture, a few days after his birthday. Fabio got his dream gift from my family: a Stiletto titanium hammer! He says now he can feel like a REAL carpenter. :)
This one below is a great sibling shot! I caught Joshua and Dominique reading in the living room ~ it was too cute! Joshua was reading a dictionary, and Dominique was reading a book with Bible verses about God's atributes. I think Joshua must be taking after his Grandpa Rex, who used to read the dictionary as a kid "for fun"! Anyway, Joshua was trying to get Dominique to look at the camera for me and smile! He was like "LOOK, Dominique!!!" HAHA ~ she didn't want to! In the next picture, she did finally decide to look, once Joshua got his hand off her neck! You can see what her hair looks like when she has had a piggie on top and takes it out!









They really do love each other, though, in spite of certain sibling moments. Here I caught Dominique giving Joshua a big hug. :) It is not an uncommon sight, and I am grateful for these loving moments.

Our Little princess

Featuring... the Backwash Queen! Dominique thinks water tastes better out of my cup too, for some reason.... This pic also shows how her front hair is coming in nicely. :)



















"Please!" in sign lanugage



















Here she is doing "Please" too. I loved this pic because this is the view I see her from so often... just precious!

The little girl has decided it is time to feed herself! At just the same age her big brother did, 15 months. Here she is enjoying one of her favorites: plain yogurt with applesause and wheat germ. YUM! Quite a lot of it actually is making it into her mouth!